THE STORY – Porky and Daffy, the classic animated odd couple, turn into unlikely heroes when their antics at the local bubble gum factory uncover a secret alien mind control plot. Against all odds, the two are determined to save their town (and the world!)…that is if they don’t drive each other crazy in the process.
THE CAST – Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, Peter MacNicol, Fred Tatasciore, Laraine Newman & Wayne Knight
THE TEAM – Pete Browngardt (Director/Writer); Darrick Bachman, Kevin Costello, Andrew Dickman, David Gemmill, Alex Kirwan, Ryan Kramer, Jason Reicher, Michael Ruocco, Johnny Ryan & Eddie Trigueros (Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME – 91 Minutes
Among the many controversial actions taken by Warner Bros. Discovery president David Zaslav in recent years has been the shelving of four fully (or nearly) completed films: the superhero adventure “Batgirl,” the animated mystery “Scoob! Holiday Haunt,” and, most notably, Dave Green’s animated comedy “Coyote vs. Acme,” which, although it reportedly received high marks in test screenings and praise from other filmmakers, was axed for a $30 million tax write-off. However, the fourth film canceled by WBD, Pete Browngardt’s “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie,” has happily found a savior in Ketchup Entertainment, which has agreed to release the $15 million animated comedy in theaters, much to the relief of Daffy Duck and Porky Pig fans everywhere.
Though Looney Tunes characters have appeared in compilation releases or as supporting characters in live-action films (“Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” “Space Jam,” to name only two), “The Day the Earth Blew Up” is the first fully animated feature film with entirely original Looney Tunes material to receive a worldwide theatrical release. Browngardt, who created the “Looney Toons Cartoons” series for Max, has an obvious affection for the Looney Tunes characters, and he has lovingly packed his feature debut with allusions and callbacks to the 90+ years of the franchise.
However, allusions and callbacks alone do not a feature film make, and Browngardt raised a few eyebrows when he decided who would write the film. Usually, when you see four or five writers credited on a film, alarm bells go off in your head. Browngardt has brought on eleven writers (including nine storyboard artists) to create “The Day the Earth Blew Up,” and somehow, miraculously, they’ve come up with a cogent narrative that deftly nods to the past while looking toward the franchise’s future.
Given its provocative title, “The Day the Earth Blew Up” suggests a sci-fi storyline (and the film eventually gets there), but the narrative’s first surprise is that it’s an origin story that reveals the power of friendship. Abandoned as a duckling and piglet respectively, Daffy and Porky (both voiced by the film’s MVP, Eric Bauza) are adopted by Farmer Jim (Fred Tatasciore), a swarthy lumberjack type who’d be the toast of any gay bar in Toontown. A hard-working father figure, Jim reminds his wards that they are brothers who need to look out for one another, and, most importantly, as he emphasizes as he is on his way up to heaven, they must take care of their home.
Of course, they don’t. When threatened with eviction by the local HOA, Daffy and Porky realize that, to save their home, they must find a real job, which also proves predictably disastrous. The montage of job after job that goes incredibly awry may be the film’s funniest sequence and exudes the feeling of a classic Looney Tunes turn (Daffy’s determined attempt to become an influencer may be my favorite of the bunch). Thankfully, the boys find employment at the Goodie Gum Factory, where Porky meets headstrong scientist Petunia Pig (Candi Milo), who will soon become the love of his life.
Meanwhile, Daffy, who never met a conspiracy theory he didn’t like, suspects there’s an alien plot afoot to take over Earth, and this time he turns out to be right. It seems outer space invaders have tainted the Goodie Gum with a substance that turns chewers into zombies, and Daffy is just the duck to stop them (sadly, audience favorite Marvin the Martian is not among them). At that moment, Daffy and Porky realize that their directive to “take care of their home” has a much more global meaning. Browngardt and company certainly know their 1950s sci-fi classics — there are numerous homages to such classics as “The Day the Earth Stood Still” and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” — and, like many memorable pieces of animation, the film doesn’t shy away from embracing its more terrifying moments.
Still, a comedy doesn’t work if the laughs aren’t there, so I’m delighted to report that there are more jokes per minute here than in any film I’ve seen since last year’s “Hundreds of Beavers.” The script is shameless at how far it will stoop for a laugh (thank goodness), and breaking the fourth wall isn’t merely a given here, it’s a shining feature. Unlike other recent animation films that strain to include pop culture references or sneering put-downs, the humor of “The Day the Earth Blew Up” captures the essence of what made those classic cartoons so funny. This small army of writers knows how to construct a joke, wait for the laugh, and then hit you with another. And here, it works to perfection.
Yet, “The Day the Earth Blew Up” would not be nearly so memorable without the emotional throughline that Browngardt knows is essential to the audience’s attachment to its characters. From the very first scenes, the bond between Daffy and Porky is front and center and continues that way through every crisis the pair face together. And if the relationship gets strained thanks to each character’s faults – Daffy’s manic enthusiasm and Porky’s intense insecurities – well, that’s just great character writing.
Visually, the film’s 2D animation provides a striking complement to the story, with the simpler events of Act 1 reflected in a classic visual style. As the story gets more manic in the remaining acts, so does the look of the film, with bold colors splashed against a black background that truly pops and heightens the tension in a vibrant way that the earlier Looney Tune cartoons could only hope to achieve.
Finally, a big thanks to Ketchup Entertainment, without whose intervention we would never have been able to see these beloved characters once again up on the big screen, where they belong. If audiences respond (which I hope they do), my fervent wish is to have Daffy and Porky (and more Looney Tunes characters) in new adventures, so that “The Day The Earth Blew Up” is not all, folks!
